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County looks into purchase of land along Avenida de Mesilla for new 911 center

By Diana Alba Soular / dalba@lcsun-news.com

Posted:
01/23/2013 06:45:12 PM MST

LAS CRUCES — Doña Ana County commissioners opened the door Wednesday for a new and long-awaited 911 call center to be built along Avenida de Mesilla.

But there are still variables that could block that plan.

County commissioners voted 4-0 to begin negotiations with owners of one parcel just west of Interstate 10 that was top-ranked in a recent study. Though the property has several advantages, one negative is the cost, officials said. It's listed for sale at about $3.9 million.

Two other high-ranked prospects in the mix are already government-owned; they wouldn't have to be purchased, but there would be other costs, officials said.

In spite of calls by some attendees for swift action, commissioners said they were hesitant, partly because they don't know what a final cost would be to buy either of the Avenida de Mesilla parcels and partly because the county's likely budget for the project couldn't pay the full cost of buying land, designing, building and equipping a large enough facility.

"We're still short $3 million with the preferred site," said County Commissioner Billy Garrett said.

Interim County Manager Sue Padilla said county staff are still working on budget estimates, but the county is likely to have about $6 million, excluding any other money that might stem from the Legislature or other sources, she said.

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The county is serious about building the new 911 facility, but the proper steps need to be taken to get the best building possible, especially because of the importance of the 911 center, said County Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez.

"We want this to be a state-of-the art facility," she said. "So we'll make this happen."

The land cost for the private parcel could be less, if negotiations are successful, commissioners said.

Also, the commission OK'd the start of preliminary design work for a new building — something officials said can begin even without a firm decision on the final site. In addition, they decided to look for other funding sources to boost the overall budget.

Garrett said he recognizes that some residents want the process to move faster. But he said the research that's been done so far is making sure taxpayers get the best facility for their dollar. It also curtails the chance for serious problems to crop up later on, he said.

"There's always a temptation to cut corners and say, "Here's a solution and let's get on with it,'" he said. "The fact is, when you do that, you miss something and you'll pay for it later."

Prior to the vote, city of Las Cruces Fire Chief Travis Brown told the commission that the 911 center board was hoping for swift progress. Design and construction of a new facility could take a while, he said.

"Even if you decided today, we're still two and a half years out" from finishing the project, said Brown, who also chairs the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority.

Officials with the 911 center have long complained that it's too small and aging, which causes frequent problems.

As part of Wednesday's approval, county commissioners formally accepted a report from the governing board of the 911 call center, which is made up of officials from the county, Las Cruces and other local governments. The plan listed the top three scoring sites for a new facility. Behind the Avenida de Mesilla locale were a plot of land just north of the Doña Ana County Government Center off Motel Boulevard and Las Cruces' East Mesa public safety campus off Sonoma Ranch Boulevard.

"If something falls through in terms of the top site, we have a good alternative site ready to go," Garrett said.

Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular